Opening Space for Peace

[Harrison Owen]

You may remember that last year Michael Pannwitz and I had the privilege of
Opening Space for the Congress of Imams and Rabbis in Seville. The occasion,
as I reported, was more than a little exciting and definitely not according
to whatever "Plan" I might have had. That said, the gathering was also
profoundly moving and powerful for the two of us and, we believed, the
participants as well - at least that is what we saw, and they said. Now
almost a year later it was very nice to receive a note from an advisor to
the King of Jordan and sometime Ambassador to the UN, which said in part,"
It was wonderful in Seville and the great role you played changed the entire
atmosphere, into what turned out lively, warm and cordial." 

Had the event been only another community/corporate gathering, the words
would have seemed nice but not particularly significant. But that event was
filled with virtually every conflict and tension imaginable - and at points
seemed quite ready to fly into a million pieces. The shift from catastrophe
(as some were calling it) into "lively, warm and cordial" was, to put it
mildly, mind blowing, and confirmed once again, if confirmation was needed
that opening space for peace can be very effective. And of course, the real
heroes were not Michael, me or Open Space. The people did it all by
themselves, as usual. Once they had the space to become what they already
were - a vibrant self-organizing system searching for peace with themselves
and their world, nothing else was needed. 

As we sit at the edge of 2007 watching the so called "world powers/leaders"
going in circles, seeking to control events and the lives of others with
disastrous results, I find the experience of Seville to be nothing short of
uplifting. To be sure we could all blow it this time around, but there is an
alternative. It is also true, I think, that we in this funny little online
community have a lot of work to do.

Harrison 

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/>

Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.ho-image.com 
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